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The SEC alleges that Gendarme repeatedly acquired deeply discounted shares from penny stock issuers under the pretense of a long-term investment and then dumped the shares into the market, essentially effecting public stock distributions without complying with the disclosure requirements of the federal securities laws. Through its two principals — CEO Ezat Rahimi of Elk Grove, Calif., and vice president Ian Lamphere of Lawrenceville, Vt. — Gendarme sold more than 15 billion shares of at least a dozen companies, netting illicit profits of more than $1.6 million.

"The federal securities laws are designed to ensure that buyers of stock in the open market have access to information about the companies in which they are investing," said Marc Fagel, Director of the SEC's San Francisco Regional Office. "Gendarme and its executives created a novel, but illegal, business plan to make an end-run around these investor protection laws, supposedly buying billions of shares of penny stock for investment purposes but instead turning around and dumping those shares into the market."

According to the SEC's complaint, filed today in federal district court in Sacramento, Gendarme began entering into agreements with penny stock issuers in early 2008. The agreements gave Gendarme the right to purchase stock at 30 to 50 percent discounts to the market price. The SEC alleges that, in an effort to avoid the registration and disclosure obligations of the federal securities laws, Gendarme falsely represented to issuers that it was purchasing shares for "investment purposes only." Contrary to those representations, Gendarme quickly dumped most of these shares on the public markets, profiting by more than $1.6 million from its unregistered stock distributions.

The SEC also alleges that Gendarme's outside attorney — Cassandra Armento of Greenwich, N.Y. — violated the securities laws by issuing more than 50 false legal opinion letters in support of Gendarme's activities. Armento repeatedly informed stock transfer agents that Gendarme was not an "underwriter" and thus had no intent to sell the stock. Thus, shares could be obtained by Gendarme without trading restrictions. However, the SEC alleges Armento made no inquiry into whether Gendarme intended to resell the stock, and was aware of information showing that it was likely that Gendarme was dumping the stock into the market.

The SEC's complaint charges Gendarme, Rahimi, Lamphere and Armento with violating the registration provisions of the federal securities laws. Against Gendarme, Rahimi, and Lamphere, the SEC seeks injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, monetary penalties, and an order barring them from participating in an offering of penny stock. The SEC seeks injunctive relief and monetary penalties against Armento.

This case was investigated by Jeremy E. Pendrey and Robert S. Leach of the SEC's San Francisco Regional Office.